Jiuxi

Chapter 654 Chapter 652 [What's Wrong]

The news that Li Daoyan was begging for his remains soon spread throughout the capital.

Some were shocked, while others were calm. The vast majority of people had great respect for the old prime minister, and countless officials went to the prime minister's residence to visit and pay their respects.

Duke Rong Xiao Wangzhi, Duke Wei Li Tianrun, Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting and officials from various ministries went there one after another. There were more than twenty high-ranking officials in the court who regarded themselves as disciples of the Left Prime Minister. Ordinary officials had no qualifications to enter the palace at all and could only show their respect outside the Prime Minister's residence.

The heads and elders of various prominent families in Jiangnan also came to pay their respects. Regardless of whether the Jinlin Li family had stood on their side in recent years, at the moment when Li Daoyan was about to leave the court, these people did not dare to attract criticism from the outside world. At least the etiquette on the scene was meticulous.

There was a constant stream of traffic outside the prime minister's residence, and the canopies were like clouds.

The rewards from the palace continued for several days in a row. As the imperial edicts were issued one after another, Li Daoyan became an extremely rare civil official in the history of the Great Qi Dynasty who held the titles of Three Dukes and the three ministers of the three cabinets during his lifetime.

"With the raging fire and the blooming flowers, my life has been worth it."

The guests left and it was late at night. Li Daoyan leaned back on the couch and sighed softly.

Standing in the hall was a middle-aged man, who was his eldest son Li Shizhi.

The current Minister of Rites looked up at the young man standing beside the couch and said gently, "Zhi Yu'er, go down and rest first."

Li Gongxu had great respect for his uncle, who was always gentle and polite. Even though he knew that there were some differences between his uncle and grandfather, at least the other party did not make any criticisms openly.

But relatively speaking, the boy must be more obedient to his grandfather, so he subconsciously looked at the old man on the couch.

Li Daoyan said calmly: "Let Zhiyuer stay. He is a member of the Li family. Is there anything he cannot listen to?"

Li Shizhi's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he said humbly, "Yes, father."

Although there were many distinguished guests these days, Li Daoyan was not tired. Firstly, there were not many important people who needed him to meet in person, and secondly, everyone who came knew that the old man needed quiet recuperation the most, so at most they would come to sit for a while, chat for a few minutes and then say goodbye and leave.

The ones who were really busy were Li Shizhi, his younger brothers, and some of the clan's direct descendants.

Even so, there was still no sign of fatigue on Li Shizhi's face, and he was as calm and indifferent as usual.

Li Daoyan looked at this calm face and said with a bit of boredom, "Just say what you want to say."

Li Shizhi's expression finally changed a little, and he said slowly: "Father, logically I shouldn't interfere with your decision, but this is a serious matter. Father did not discuss it with the clan members beforehand, and even I only learned the details afterward, so there was no preparation in the mansion."

"Prepare?"

Li Daoyan raised his eyebrows slightly: "What preparations are needed?"

Li Shizhi was slightly stunned.

Under normal circumstances, he could certainly speak frankly, for example, about how to deal with the power vacuum in the court after Li Daoyan's resignation, and whether Li's descendants could take advantage of this opportunity to make further progress.

However, due to some past disputes, or perhaps because of the willful behavior of the future head of the family, a rift had arisen between father and son, and some words were difficult to say.

Li Daoyan said quietly, "You are now the Minister of Rites, holding a high position in the court, and are trusted by His Majesty. Your father's presence or absence does not have much impact. Can't you arrange the future of the younger generation? You should know that when I was your age, I was just a mere Minister of Revenue, but I was still able to make the Jinlin Li family the leader. Now you are only one step away from being a secretary, and behind you is the Li family, which is the top family in Jiangnan. Why do you feel so guilty?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in these words, and Li Shizhi could naturally hear it.

He still said calmly: "How dare a son compare himself with his father?"

Li Daoyan couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Whether we compete or not is not important now. You have always felt that it was me, your father, who blocked your path and prevented you from shining. Now that I have taken the initiative to leave the court, it is time for you to show your talents and become famous, isn't it?"

Li Shizhi narrowed his eyes and looked at the old man leaning on the couch with a calm expression.

After a long while, he smiled dejectedly and said, "So in my father's eyes, I am such an unfilial person."

"You are very filial, from childhood to adulthood." Li Daoyan stared into his eyes and said indifferently: "If not, how could I have invested all my efforts in you, spent all my efforts to train you, paved a smooth road for you when you just came of age, and handed over the power of the family to you little by little when you were thirty years old. You did not disappoint me. You have a good reputation both in the court and in the streets. All the mansions in Jiangnan are close to you. From the perspective of an heir, you have done better than I expected, even better than I expected."

Li Shizhi pondered for a moment and asked, "If that's the case, why is my father always dissatisfied with me?"

Li Gongxu, who was standing beside the couch, became more and more nervous.

The young man finally realized at this moment that his grandfather forced him to stay tonight, perhaps to let him see the side of the Li family hidden in the shadows.

As expected, the next moment Li Daoyan whispered, "Because of Hou Yu, because of Yuan Xingqin."

Hearing these two names, Li Shizhi's eyes turned cold, but he still asked stubbornly: "May I ask, father, what is wrong with these two people?"

Li Daoyan said in a deep voice: "When you were the governor of Chengzhou, you secretly instigated Hou Yu to deceive his superiors and subordinates and start a war, which further deteriorated the relationship between Da Qi and Shazhou. Is that true?"

To Li Gongxu's surprise, his uncle did not deny it, but bowed his head and said, "Yes."

Li Daoyan asked again, "You used a large sum of money to bribe Yuan Xingqin and let him become your eyes and ears in the Beijing army. Is this true?"

Li Shizhi still said calmly: "Yes."

Li Daoyan sneered and said slowly: "Hou Yu was exiled 3,000 miles away, and you mobilized your men to ambush and kill him on the road, but Wang Yan, that idiot, got there first, saving you some trouble. You also had people fan the flames, forcing the four clans to take risks, and in the end you took advantage of the situation and used this opportunity to place your confidants in the court, right?"

This time Li Shizhi did not answer directly. After a brief silence, he asked in confusion: "Father, is it wrong for me to do this?"

"That's right?"

"Of course you are right. We are both prominent families in Jiangnan, so why can Guo Wang and others get involved in military power, but the Li family must be isolated? I have no intention of being disloyal. I only want to win over Hou Yuyi to gain another connection. As for the four powerful families who rebelled, even if I didn't interfere, wouldn't they rebel? Since it is an established fact, those vacant positions will eventually need to be filled by someone, so why can't it be someone from the Li family?"

Li Shizhi seemed to have been patient for a long time, and he spoke more and more fluently.

He looked directly into the old man's weathered eyes and said decisively, "Father, you want to maintain the glory and status of the Jinlin Li family, and you also want to be a loyal minister who helps the emperor and leaves his name in history. Do you know that this contradiction between public and private is natural? In recent years, because you have repeatedly sided with the late emperor, do you know what the prominent families in Jiangnan have been talking about behind your back? As your son, I have no way to persuade you to change your mind. I can only patch things up behind your back."

Li Daoyan shook his head slightly and said disappointedly: "It seems that I have wronged you."

Li Shizhi calmed down his emotions, bowed his head and said, "My son dare not have such thoughts."

Li Daoyan did not dwell on this topic, and continued, "So you just sent those four families with thousands of people to die?"

Li Shizhi said in a deep voice: "Father, what you have done all along cannot be said to be wrong, it's just that you have thought too highly of people's hearts. The Jinlin Li family is one of the Jiangnan clans and can never get rid of this identity. Only when they unite around the Li family, you will have the confidence to compete with the imperial power in the court, otherwise the prime minister will also become a yes-man. If you want to maintain the prestige of the late emperor and the imperial power, you will inevitably anger the people below and infringe on their interests. I have advised you before, but it has no effect. The Jinlin Li family is destined to be caught in the middle. If the situation does not change, someone will definitely pay a sufficient price."

He paused for a moment and said solemnly, "Think about it. If the rebellion in the capital had not happened, and the struggle between the late emperor and the Jiangnan clans had continued, and the situation had reached a fever pitch, what would the Jinlin Li family choose? If they continued to suppress those prominent families for Your Majesty, the Li family would inevitably become the target of public criticism, and everyone would want to pounce on them and take a bite. As for joining forces with those prominent families to force the late emperor to abdicate, I know you would not do that."

There was silence in Jinlin Hall.

After a moment, Li Daoyan said indifferently: "It's not that there is no third way."

"Father is right. There is indeed a third way."

Li Shizhi seemed to have thought about this problem a long time ago. A hint of self-mockery appeared on his face, and he said slowly: "The late emperor may not want to kill them all. After all, he still needs officials to govern the various places, and he can't get rid of the children of the aristocratic families anyway. As long as father takes the initiative to give in as an example, and as long as the Jinlin Li family does not covet the current power and status, given the tacit understanding between you and the late emperor, this matter can be done although it is difficult. It's nothing more than wielding a knife at the Li family itself, cutting off some flesh and blood for the world to see, so as to deter other aristocratic families and force them to bow their heads and accept reality."

Li Daoyan looked at his eldest son and said slowly: "Since you understand these principles, why are you so stubborn?"

Li Shizhi raised his head and said, "Because I am the heir you trained, the next generation of the Jinlin Li family, no matter what I do, I must consider the interests of the Li family. My father has made great contributions to the Li family's current status, and it can even be said that he is the work of one person. But because of this, I cannot allow others to take away the foundation of the Li family."

He suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the young man standing beside the couch, and said word by word: "Why did you personally train Zhi Yu'er? Why did you let him worship Lu Chen as his master? In fact, I know it very well. Even so, for the sake of the fate of the family, have I ever done anything? Have I ever let this child lose a single hair? Father, do you think I am really a stupid and unfilial son who is ignorant and only cares about power?"

The last sentence implies endless disappointment and anger.

(End of this chapter)